Brothers in Arms

I want my MTVVVVVV...

It's a great album but there's such a sad undercurrent that I find it difficult to listen to.

I know this album is a technical marvel and basically introduced the CD to the world, but almost every song is 2 minutes too long and there’s way too much noodling. Couple of bangers yes, but not enough to save it for me. Just not a Dire Straits fan.

This has some of the greatest songs he ever did, but also a lot of filler..

I was a child in Britain in the 1980s, so it goes without saying that my parents had this album. I know the first four tracks really well, but couldn't really remember the rest of it. Turns out there's a reason for that as this is incredibly front-loaded, but I can see why it was the 80s dad rock album of choice.

To me, Dire Straits are usually just kind of boring. They have a pop rock sound and, on Brothers In Arms, some vaguely 80's production. And on some level, it's too bad, because I *do* think that Mark Knopfler is a cool guitarist. Although, a lot of his high skill and cool phrasing techniques just seem to end up in the middle of decent rock songs that don't grab me. I will say that the riff on Money For Nothing is cool, but I don't love the melodies of that song, and I don't think it needs to be like 9 minutes long. The Man's Too Strong is also decent, But honestly, my favorite song is the title track at the very end. It feels like after nearly 50 minutes of dad rock, the veil is lifted a little bit and it feels like a moment of real beauty and vulnerability. The 80's sound works well, the guitar is super dynamic, and the vocals feel pretty genuinely vulnerable. That being said, aside from these, I don't really get much from this album. There are neat moments throughout, but a lot of these songs are overlong, I don't think the sound has aged well, and I don't really like the songs as they are written. There's enough to save Dire Straits from the 1/5, but I didn't really get much out of this.

Classic "Rock". Sometimes songs are too long (pretty normal for that era). "Money for Nothing" felt familiar, riffs are nice.

It's an almost perfect album. Lyricism. Artistry. Stories. Riffs. I've heard it probably too much as a demo album in stereo shops and stuff and I almost downgraded it due to overfamiliarity but trying to take it at its own merit it's just a really, really good album.

Very strong beginning, but the songs in the middle are a bit of a letdown, but Brothers in Arms compensates as finale

Money for Nothing alone deserves a five stars for me but I also love some of the other songs on this album like Brothers in Arms and Your Latest Trick.

Mostly a good album, but fuck the song Money for Nothing. "That little f*ggot" shut the fuck up. Weird Al did it better.

Great singles (f slur notwithstanding [like I get the context but it was still jarring]), and not quite as great filler. Solid listen!

It's very nice to hear how well they fleshed out their sound since their self-titled, which I enjoyed a lot despite it being a bit one-note. There's much more variety from track to track here, and they even managed to transition into the 80s without falling into its usual trappings! Guitar John still knows all the chords!

Since I'm rating this as an album listen, I do think it hits a few lulls here and there, which would be fine if they didn't go on for up to 8 minutes. Too many of these tracks fail to justify their length -- even Money For Nothing is pushing it!!

When it's good, though, it's awesome. And it made me rediscover a couple of nostalgic bangers!

Standouts: So Far Away • Money For Nothing • Walk Of Life • Ride Across The River

Not bad, a lot of it I kind of zoned out, it easily becomes background music. Also, I guess I’ve never heard the non-radio version of Monwy for Nothing, a lot of F slurs! I get it’s from a different time and I think the context was almost mocking people who use the term, I was just surprised because I’ve heard that song a ton on the radio.

Banger

I enjoy a handful of songs from Dire Straits, but it always surprises me how quickly this album loses steam after Walk of Life.

5 h Solid and chok full of impeccably produced hits

Mark Knopfler is one of the most distinctive, enigmatic guitarists out there. The main riff to “Money for Nothing” is iconic (and difficult).

The first four songs are excellent, but then the album plateaus a bit at that point. Or maybe it’s just my lack of familiarity with the later tracks that’s the problem. Nevertheless, I’d call this a solid 4 stars.

Ok - after a run of tough new listens, now we’re back on very familiar territory.

If you had a CD player in the mid 80s then you had to have a copy of this! DDD was a big deal back in the day!!

The fact that it’s Dire Straits most commercial album and somehow it’s still jammed with wonderful songs like Why Worry is amazing to me.

It’s the big hits that spoil it for me now. Money for Nothing was never the strongest track for me and I have always loathed Walk of Life (my original CD player was programmed to recognise this disk and skip the track always).

The rest is simply wonderful music. Overall I think Love Over Gold is a far superior album, but it’s still a 4 all day long.

Just a flat out ridiculous album, zero skips within, Sure "Money For Nothing" and "Walk Of Life" are way overplayed in your lifetime, but the whole flow of the album is seriously fucking good. Mark Knopfler is on fire with his guitar playing, the drums and bass are tight and even the 80s sax player gets his chance to shine with a godly tier riff on the jazzy noir "Your Latest Trick" and the vibes on "Ride Across The River" feels like an island band despite the song being about mercenaries and private wars, a theme that gets bookended in the titular "Brothers In Arms" about the futility of war, and capped by an emotional solo for the ages.

This is arguably the moment Dire Straits went from "great British band" to "global phenomenon." It was one of the first albums made famous by MTV videos and directed at the CD market, recording digitally to capture every nuance of Mark Knopfler’s fingerpicking.

Worse than their first record, albeit more packed with hits. It is a collection of bangers through and through.

9/10 [KEEP]